Readers Write: Fraud, Christmas ornaments

Opinion editor’s note: Strib Voices publishes letters from readers online and in print each day. To contribute, click here.

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What has happened to our state? What corrupted us?

Two commentaries on Dec. 30 were depressing as well as revealing: Jim Nobles on Minnesota fraud with “What is the ‘right’ number?” and immediately to the right, Carl Elliott on “The year in scientific fraud at the University of Minnesota.”

For most of my life I thought of Minnesota as a fine example of a well-run state.

Not anymore.

Gerald Kraut, St. Paul

Watching the evolution of the Minnesota fraud story has been sadly predictable, from legitimate concern to full-blown political circus. The sad truth is that where there is money, bad people will try to steal it. Here, investigators caught Feeding Our Future doing just that, referring the matter to the FBI. Enter politics.

I have seen state and national Republicans inflate a $250 million theft well into the billions. I am thinking it will be a trillion before they are done. Minnesota Republicans have used the issue to attack not just the governor but the entire immigrant community. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has promised to denaturalize citizens. Right-wing influencers ate now joining the act. And, of course, Republican politicians say the remedy is to not feed hungry children through such programs.

All the while, they ignore more serious issues such as skyrocketing health care premiums, astronomical grocery prices due to tariffs and immigration agents rounding up agricultural workers and soaring electricity rates and property tax increases due to their Big Beautiful Bill. I am concerned about fraud, but the biggest scam that concerns me is politicians playing politics on our dime while doing nothing about the issues that affect the average person. I am concerned about the fraudulent behavior of the Republican Congress, pretending to be a coequal branch of government while bending to President Donald Trump’s every whim. If these politicians really cared about fraud, they would care about the money taken directly from our pockets daily to fuel tax breaks for the ultrawealthy.

Kelly Dahl, Linden Grove Township, Minn.

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Joseph Kowal, Coon Rapids

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I submit that there is a third-party option in 2026 as an independent candidate: Mike Newcome. According to an MPR story about him, “He wants stronger educational outcomes, more accountability and fraud prevention in the state government, and increased public safety to cut down on crime in the state.

“He describes his political background as center-right, adding, ‘I always used to say I’m fiscally conservative, and I’m socially liberal.’”

Minnesota needs a business mind in government, not a career politician. Tough decisions need to be made by both sides and a fair and balanced guiding hand needs to lead for the next four years.

Paul Palmer, Chaska

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This is a breakdown of the entire state government. If the legislative auditor cannot get action to be taken when clear evidence of fraud has been found, then get someone who can (“What is the ‘right’ number?”). Nobles spent 38 years as the auditor, and how much fraud occurred under that watch? The fraud didn’t start under Gov. Tim Walz. We don’t know when but per the whistleblower the fraud had being going on for some time. Where were Democrat leaders in the legislative branch when they heard about these issues? Don’t they listen to the auditor? Where were the Republican leaders? This had been going on for years and they could have provided evidence of the problems in the program and taken those issues to the electorate with great effect (as should have Democrats).

Shame on all of the “leaders.” We need fresh faces, starting with governor and going right down the line.

Paul Scott, Bloomington

Gov. Walz, thanks for your service to the state of Minnesota. I voted for you twice, believing you show compassion, concern and courage in trying to improve the human condition. I also admire your honesty: Your personal net worth reflects the world I live in, not that of multimillionaires, technology manipulators or “media influencers” who garner attention.

But, governor, it’s over — time for you to step aside. The bureaucracy in your administration has failed in a significant way. Whether the welfare fraud is millions or billions of dollars, it is egregious. And the buck stops at your desk. No matter how skilled the media influencer is, he or she cannot tie up a pretty, or believable, package. It’s happened on your watch and you spent part of your watch on the last year away from Minnesota, crisscrossing the country running for vice president.

So you know what happens, governor, when you wait too long to do the right thing. You damage your party, you ignore the bigger picture, and you leave constituents like me no reasonable choice in the voting booth. Young successors are present in the DFL hierarchy. Let ‘em fight it out. Let ‘em make a case. Give ‘em a chance.

You might be able to excuse Feeding Our Future and the millions squandered by the dozens already convicted or pleading guilty. That should have alerted your administrators to the new welfare programs, which are always subject to trials and troubles before the rules and regulations become bureaucratic rituals.

But it did not. The policy and programs may have their heart in the right place, helping those in poverty or who struggle with disabilities and addictions. The eyes of your administration were not. They missed the red flags federal investigators did not: Feeding Our Future, Housing Stabilization Services (HSS), autism assistance (Medicaid) and child care assistance.

It’s the reality, governor. And as a former news reporter and now senior citizen, I’ve learned something about real life: It’s not always fair. And it’s impossible to ignore if you want to lead a useful and honest life. I know you must have considered bowing out. You have had a great run. But you’ve reached the finish line.

David Nimmer, Oakdale

The writer is a former managing editor of the Minneapolis Star.

I’m sitting by my Christmas tree having just finished the morning newspaper. As I gazed into my tree, I decided a shout-out to schoolteachers is in order — in this case, teachers from the past! Why, you may wonder? I see paper ornaments that my adult children made as long as 35 years ago hanging from the boughs of my tree! Although the paper is fading, the glue still holds and the ornaments are still intact. Imagine a classroom full of youngsters creating little paper wreaths. Some are listening to the instructions and others are busy gluing things together, but in the end, each child has an ornament with their own photo glued in the middle to take home. I have three such ornaments on my tree, each one different and each one made by one of my daughters at some point in their childhood.

In a world where many things don’t outlast their warranty, I am amazed, impressed and grateful that my little paper ornaments have! I wish I could personally thank those schoolteachers for their efforts, years ago, because those memories are still hanging on my tree.